Ryan Fitzpatrick: Thumb is ‘more painful now’ than before surgery

Ryan Fitzpatrick is coming off of surgery to repair torn ligaments in his thumb, but he still expects to play on Sunday against the Texans. He likely could have waited until the season was over to have the surgery done, but he elected to utilize the min-bye week to his advantage.

Although he'll play this week, he won't be on the field without some pain in his thumb.

“It's more painful now than it was before the surgery,” Fitzpatrick said via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Part of that is they cut my hand open.”

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With the surgery came stitches, which are still in Fitzpatrick's hand. He'll wear a protective glove as he has over the past few weeks.

“I don't know how long they will be in,” Fitzpatrick said about the stitches. “Just anytime they open you up, infection is a big concern, so just keeping everything clean, that is one of the main things we are kind of keeping an eye on.”

It's a good sign that Fitzpatrick was on the field and taking snaps from Nick Mangold at practice on Thursday after sitting out since undergoing surgery on Friday. He's all but certain to play on Sunday against his former team, and he'll do so with a chip on his shoulder.

“I have been on enough teams now that you don't hold grudges, but it plays into it,” Fitzpatrick said. “The fact that they didn't necessarily want me at the end of the year plays into it a little bit for me from that personal standpoint, but it is not a big thing other than we are trying to win a game and get back on track.”